A new study on a male hormonal contraceptive injection sparked a discussion this week that drew focus to the kinds of side effects women experience from their birth control methods. The male study participants suffered mood changes, acne, and suppressed fertility post-trial. These side effects were viewed by the researchers, and experts, as reason enough to halt the study completely.
Women, unsurprisingly, took to social media to vent their outrage – these are the exact same side effects women experience on the currently available female hormonal contraceptives. They’re also the kind of side effects unfortunately frequently dismissed or played down by doctors. Many of you commented on our FLO Living Facebook page with your own stories and shared concerns about the burden placed on women to prevent pregnancy.
Multiple studies on female hormonal contraceptives have concluded that women do experience unwanted side effects. I was glad to see the reaction this week – women being honest about their experiences, demanding to be taken seriously, and saying “enough is enough.” Women do not deserve these side effects any more than men do. Every year new brands, types, and formulations of hormone-based birth control are released and women are pressured to use them. We are conditioned to believe that suffering is part of being a woman and so we tolerate more than we should, and instead we should have a zero tolerance policy on feeling bad in our bodies.
As I watched this conversation unroll, I wondered how many women know that these side effects – mood changes, acne, suppressed fertility post-pill – are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the negative impact hormonal birth control has on the female body. We are quite familiar with the short term, sometimes near-immediate, negative effects – like bloating, weight gain, mood swings and nausea – but fewer of us are aware of the long term impact of hormonal birth control, the kinds of issues it can be difficult to reverse even when you come off the pill, and can impact your long term health.
The long term side effects of hormonal birth control for women
- Damaged microbiome – hormonal birth control acts just like an antibiotic in your gut, destroying the essential microbiome balance. If your doctor prescribes the pill for PCOS specifically, you will find it will only worsen the problems of weight gain and insulin sensitivity, because of the impact on gut flora. Just recently research revealed the pill can trigger Crohn’s, a symptomatic disease of imbalance in the microbiome. The microbiome is a new frontier for medicine, and more and more research is getting published that shows a healthy microbiome is necessary for good physical and psychological health. Repairing a damaged microbiome, while not impossible, takes time. The impact of the pill on the microbiome will last long after you stop taking it without concentrated, focused actions to replenish good gut bacteria.
- Increased inflammation – if you are prescribed the pill for cramps, PMS, or other common period problems (as many women are), you should know that those issues result from hormonal imbalance and inflammation in the body. The pill does not treat these root causes, but can mask the symptoms you experience. This puts you at higher risk of the big diseases of inflammation – heart disease, cancer and dementia – later in life. You need to tackle cramps and PMS as soon as possible, from a functional medicine standpoint, with the right food and supplements.
- Micronutrient deficiency – hormonal birth control prevents the absorption of micronutrients, vitamins and minerals. It robs your body of B vitamins, magnesium, and vitamin C in particular, which has short and long term impacts on your health. These are essential for hormonal health and can lead to infertility issues post-pill. Once you’re micronutrient deficient, and prevented from absorbing what you need even from additional supplementation, you are set up for poor physical and mental health. It takes a nutrient dense, targeted diet after stopping using hormonal birth control to replenish your body’s reserves and repair the avenues of absorption.
- Suppressed ovulation – research has shown that consistent ovulation protects women’s long term health, especially when it comes to avoiding issues like osteoporosis, heart disease, heart attacks, and breast cancer (all top killers of women). Hormonal birth control (except, sometimes, the hormonal IUD) suppresses ovulation. Suppressing ovulation for years, decades even, has long term consequences, even if ovulation returns shortly after you come off the medication. Exposure to synthetic hormones plus a lack of exposure to the body’s own hormone cycles is the root cause. Ovulation is important, not just for when you want to conceive.
- Masked reproductive health issues – the pill is not a real treatment for reproductive health issues – from PMS to PCOS. Hormonal birth control can help manage symptoms for some women, but it is only a band-aid solution. This can be dangerous, because it can mask issues long term, if women are not diagnosed prior to being prescribed hormonal birth control. Once you come off the method, the problems will return and potentially have worse symptoms than before, as well as becoming harder to treat and resolve. It’s better to tackle these problems head-on and not wait until you’d like to conceive or suffer the long-term health consequences.
I know that many women depend on hormonal birth control to avoid unplanned pregnancy, which is why I have already outlined the best non-hormonal contraceptive options.
If you are currently taking the pill or using another form of hormonal birth control, please follow my steps to transition off, as this will help you avoid the negative fall out for your health and a return of any symptoms you may have experienced before.
Always remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this – the science of your body is on your side!
to your FLO,
Alisa
Good things come in threes:
I want to hear from you!
First, do you use the pill?
Second, have you experienced side effects?
Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article on social 😉
Is Your Period Healthy?
How do you know if your hormones are healthy? The answer is in your 5th vital sign – your period.
The color of your flow, frequency of your period, and symptoms you have each month can tell you a lot about your health. There are 5 different V-SIGN TYPES, and knowing which one you have will help you get healthy now and prevent disease in the future.
Hi there,
I went off bc 7 months ago (8 years on diane 35) and had 2 periods within 4 months, and now I have been spotting for 9 weeks non stop, first brown and now red. I have been taking vitex and vitamin b complex, my diet is pretty healthy, I exercise regularly and I’m pretty skinny, I have a copper IUD though. Went to see the doctor and she told me to go back to the pill, I said no and she told me to have a think about it. OMG I got so angry that I don’t even want to go back to my follow up appointment. Anyone else experienced anything similar?
Hi Mari,
I am so sorry to hear this, it is a very common experience for women with any kind of symptoms. The is the western medical band aid for hormonal symptoms. There is so much you can do to recover and reduce/eliminate you symptoms! I hope you are able to either read the WomanCode book or do the Monthly Flo Protocol.
Alisa
How long does it typically take to reverse these effects for someone who has been on the pill for a long time (over a decade) but is otherwise in good health?
Hi, I just found out about you and all that you do throught listening to an older podcast of Jess Lively. I really liked what you had to say and was quite intrigued.
Personally I don’t have any issues with hormonal imbalance (that I’m aware of). I also don’t take the pill, but I do have a hormonal IUD (Jaydess) with 13,5 mg of levonorgestrel which you typically have for three years. I was wondering if there are any negative side effects to this type of anti-conception?
Thanks!
Hey, I haven’t had my period in almost 3 months. Though I have been severely cramping, and being somewhat emotionally unstable. Do you know what is going on?
Hi Alex,
It sounds like the balance between progesterone and estrogen is off, not allowing you to menstruate. I would recommend heading to your Obgyn to run some blood work and get checked out. My staff is also here to help, so just let us know if we can do anything!
Alisa
Hello, I’ve been off bc for 8 months now and I haven’t had a period for over 3 months. I am not pregnant. Is this normal? I’ve had irregular periods before I was on the pill. Was on the pill for about 5 years.
Hi Lin,
Yes this is common. If you had a hormone imbalance and irregular cycles before going on the pill, the imbalance is still there after coming off. The hormones in the pills can actually create further disturbance in hormone production. This is something we work with a lot at Flo living!
Alisa
Hi Alisa,
I think that my Mirena IUD could be causing me not to be able to lose weight. I have gained some weight – about 15 pounds over the two years of having it – but my main problem is that my regular exercise and diet routine that used to work, no longer works. My sex drive vanished and so did my period. Could the IUD be a problem or are they as “fool-proof” as doctors say they are?
Hi Elise,
It could also be other factors, like stress. Stress will make weight loss harder, and can effect hormone production. I would definitely want to take a closer look before responding for sure!
Alisa
Hi Alisa,
I’ve been off birth control for about 4 weeks. I am experiencing an increase in weight gain. Currently reading your book womancode. My diet is good, I’m taking a lot of different supplements including; I3C, magnesium, fish oil, vitex, B complex. I exercise daily, Is this normal coming off the pill? It’s a little frustating.
Hi Anna,
It will take a few months for your hormones to settle down, so things may go up and down for a bit. Weight gain can certainly be a symptom once coming off the pill. I would focus on understanding all of your symptoms so that you can start to rebalance with food and lifestyle. Supporting your liver would be great to do now as well! The liver could use some gentle cleansing to get back on track post pill.
Alisa
Hi Alisa,
I am relieved to have found you. I went of the pill (levlen ed) in April this year after being on it since 18, I am now 31. I have yet to have a period and my husband and I are hoping/trying ttc. I am yet to have a period. I feel I eat a well balanced diet including not too much caffeine or soy. I am vegetarian and have plenty of fruit and veg. I have visited my doctor a couple of times who has said it’s normal to wait for my period to return. While on levlen I often skipped periods and continued with the tablet. Before going on the pill I had regular periods with normal bleeds. I have ordered your book but hoping you may shed some light on my lack of flo.
Hi,
I have been on the pill for about 3 months. I am 41 and am going through early menopause (no family history, health otherwise fine) and was unable to sleep, suffering horrible cystic acne, and mood swings. The pill really has helped. I feel sooooooo much better. It’s hard for me to justify going off and risking that I slip back into the abyss. Is the pill always bad?
hiii i am shiva and my gf periods does not come from 3 months is any thing that any chance for geting pregant
actually we are together but we do not come totally close but almost i mean that my penis does not go to her vergina but my fingure goes where (in vegina) is there any chance to geting periods and also we checked pregancy to using prega news and the result comes neagtive. we are using pregancy kit 5 to 6 times and every time the result come neagtive now please tell me is there any chance to geting pregancy?
Hi Alisa,
I came off Yasmin when I was 21; I haven’t had a period for four years. Despite this being a worryingly amount of time the doctors didn’t seem to be too stressed about it. I am in the UK and so this is through the NHS. Initially I thought it was PCOS due to the bad skin and cystic acne around my cheeks and chin, also noticed longer hair around my chin. I have little or no sex drive. Initially they sent me for a standard blood test, from which I got told everything seems fine so they sent me for exactly the same blood tests again, with the second results coming back exactly the same as the first they sent me the third time within this time, I also went for ultrasound tests and from this could gladly rule out PCOS. Quite frankly I am pretty fed up with the NHS quite frankly and I seem to be having to take out a lot of time from work for appointments but don’t seem to be getting anywhere. Is there anyway I can start to sort it out myself?
thanks